Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Dangerous precedent: On the U.S. President and majority ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court

​Dangerous precedent: On the U.S. President and majority ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court

Shielding (रक्षा करना) Presidents from answering for crimes subverts (कमज़ोर करना) rule of law

The majority ruling (फैसला, निर्णय) by the United States Supreme Court that the President has either absolute (सम्पूर्ण, निरपेक्ष) or presumptive (अनुमानित, संभावित) immunity from criminal prosecution (अभियोजन, मुकदमा) raises disconcerting (चिंताजनक) questions about the supremacy (authority, dominance, hegemony, primacy, sovereignty, control, power, sway) of the rule of law (क़ानून का शासन) in the country. In a ruling based mainly on the doctrine (सिद्धांत) of separation of powers and the need to insulate (protect, save, safeguard, shield, defend, secure) the Presidency from the fear of future prosecutions, and not the text of the U.S. Constitution (संविधान), the court, dominated by conservative (रूढ़िवादी, परंपरावादी) justices, by 6:3 majority has ruled in favour of (के पक्ष में, समर्थन में) presidential immunity. The verdict does not decide whether former President Donald J. Trump will enjoy immunity from prosecution for allegedly (कथित रूप से) trying to interfere with (tinker with, tamper with, meddle with, mess around with, play with) or alter the outcome (नतीजा, परिणाम) of the November 2020 presidential elections that he lost to Joe Biden. Instead, it lays down a threshold (lower limit, starting point, the level (to react to something)) test for any intended (deliberate, intentional, planned, conscious, knowing, purposeful) prosecution of a President to see whether the act (law, decree, statute, resolution, rule, ruling, ordinance, stipulation) complained of involved the exercise of a core constitutional duty, or was an official or unofficial act. In respect of (concerning, regarding, as regards, with reference to, relating to, in connection with) a President’s core constitutional duties, the immunity is absolute; for other official acts, he enjoys presumptive immunity, that is, he is presumed (assume, suppose, expect, surmise, speculate, posit) to be immune (resistant, not subject, not liable (from the effects of something); freed from, absolved from, released from, excused from, relieved of, spared from, excepted from, exempted from) unless rebutted (deny, disprove, prove wrong, prove false, invalidate, negate, contradict, quash) by facts; and for unofficial or private acts, there is no immunity at all. For official acts, any prosecution is permissible (legal, lawful, legitimate, authorized, allowable, acceptable) only if it does not intrude (intervene in, interfere, nose into, meddle, poke) into the power and authority of the executive (the executive is a branch of government which enforces the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary).

The majority has remanded (return (a case) to a lower court for reconsideration) issues that arise in the prosecution of Mr. Trump for his attempts to influence (affect, have an effect on, exert influence on, control, determine, pressurize) the electoral outcome, culminating (end with, finish with, terminate with, conclude with, come to an end with) in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol (In the United States, the Capitol is a building in Washington in which the US Congress meets), to the trial court (a court of law where cases are tried at first. (try means to investigate and decide (a case) in a formal trial)) for analysis based on this ruling. The dissenting (opposite, contradicting, disagreeing, conflicting) views speak with moral clarity when they question the claim (assertion, affirmation, contention, case) that only immunity from criminal prosecution can enable (allow, permit, authorize, entitle, empower) a President to function in an unhesitating (unwavering, unfaltering, dedicated, determined, resolute, steadfast, firm) and bold manner. While it is valid to argue that the President should be free from intrusive (intruding, interfering, interrupting; annoying, irritating) probes and fear of trivial (unimportant, insignificant, inconsequential, minor, petty, small, little) prosecution, it is inconceivable (unthinkable, unimaginable, extremely implausible) that such a powerful office should come with little accountability (responsibility, liability, answerability) and the freedom to violate (breach, break, offend, go against, transgress; be opposed to, contradict, counteract) criminal law (a complex system of laws concerned with punishment of individuals who commit crimes). Critics (criticizer, censurer, castigator, attacker, fault-finder) of the verdict see great peril (danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty) for democracy (a system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through fairly & freely elected representatives) in its implications (outcome, end result, ramification, repercussion). As the dissent (a person who publicly disagrees with an official opinion, decision and etc) asks, can a President take a bribe in lieu of (instead of, as an alternative for, as a replacement for, in exchange for, in place of) a pardon (it means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free; reprieve, acquittal/discharge, exoneration, general pardon), or authorise (endorse, approve, empower, justify, permit) a rival’s assassination (murder, killing)? The majority wants to protect the Presidency (the office of president; the period of a president’s office; premiership, leadership, chairmanship, stewardship) from any intrusion (intervention, involvement, meddling, interference) in the name of (for the sake of, at the behest of, for the reason of) criminal prosecution, but what it fails to see is that Mr. Trump’s actions may have been destructive (harmful, damaging, brutal, dangerous, disastrous, devastating) of his successor’s (inheritor, next-in-line, replacement) Presidency. While there is a passing (hasty, rapid, hurried, brief, quick) mention (reference, comment, remark) of the possibility (chance, option, probability, scope) that he may have been acting in his capacity as a candidate or a party leader in some instances, it is astonishing (bewildering, surprising, stunning, disconcerting, staggering) that the verdict allows the use of the presidency as a shield even in matters that solely (only, merely, just, alone, entirely) concern (relate to, be about, have to do with, be connected with, regard) the election process.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.precedent (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मिसाल
English Meaning - a past action/event/decision that is seen as an example; previous example, previous instance, prior instance, previous case, example.

2.ruling (noun)

Hindi Meaning - फैसला, निर्णय
English Meaning - verdict, judgement, pronouncement, decision, decree.

3.shield (verb)

Hindi Meaning - रक्षा करना
English Meaning - protect, guard, safeguard, provide protection for, defend, cover, insulate.

4.subvert (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कमज़ोर करना
English Meaning - undermine, weaken, sabotage, damage, demolish, disrupt.

5.rule of law (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - क़ानून का शासन
English Meaning - it is described as “a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.

6.prosecution (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभियोजन, मुकदमा
English Meaning - legal action, legal proceeding, legal case.

7.absolute (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सम्पूर्ण, निरपेक्ष
English Meaning - complete, total, entire, outright.

8.presumptive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनुमानित, संभावित
English Meaning - speculative, tentative, notional, suppositional, hypothetical, unproven, unconfirmed; probable, likely, prospective, assumed.

9.disconcerting (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चिंताजनक
English Meaning - upsetting, discomfiting, disturbing, unsettling, disquieting, troubling.

10.doctrine (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सिद्धांत
English Meaning - principle, belief, rule.

11.constitution (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संविधान
English Meaning - body of law; system of rules; regulations, fundamental principles, charter.

12.conservative (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - रूढ़िवादी, परंपरावादी
English Meaning - rightist, right-wing, reactionary, traditionalist, Republican.

13.in favour of (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के पक्ष में, समर्थन में
English Meaning - in support of, to the advantage of.

14.allegedly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - कथित रूप से
English Meaning - apparently, supposedly, evidently, seemingly, reportedly, presumably, ostensibly.

15.outcome (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नतीजा, परिणाम
English Meaning - end result, aftermath, conclusion, consequence, effect.

16.immunity (noun)

English Meaning - exemption, exclusion, exception, impunity, indemnity, freedom, exemption from punishment, freedom from punishment.

17.supremacy (noun)

English Meaning - authority, dominance, hegemony, primacy, sovereignty, control, power, sway.

18.insulate (verb)

English Meaning - protect, save, safeguard, shield, defend, secure.

19.interfere with (verb)

English Meaning - tinker with, tamper with, meddle with, mess around with, play with.

20.lay down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - formulate, stipulate, frame, prescribe, promulgate.

21.threshold (noun)

English Meaning - lower limit, starting point, the level (to react to something).

22.intended (adjective)

English Meaning - deliberate, intentional, planned, conscious, knowing, purposeful.

23.act (noun)

English Meaning - law, decree, statute, resolution, rule, ruling, ordinance, stipulation.

24.in respect of (phrase)

English Meaning - concerning, regarding, as regards, with reference to, relating to, in connection with.

25.presume (verb)

English Meaning - assume, suppose, expect, surmise, speculate, posit.

26.immune (adjective)

English Meaning - resistant, not subject, not liable (from the effects of something); freed from, absolved from, released from, excused from, relieved of, spared from, excepted from, exempted from.

27.rebut (verb)

English Meaning - deny, disprove, prove wrong, prove false, invalidate, negate, contradict, quash.

28.permissible (adjective)

English Meaning - legal, lawful, legitimate, authorized, allowable, acceptable.

29.intrude (verb)

English Meaning - intervene in, interfere, nose into, meddle, poke.

30.the executive (noun)

English Meaning - the executive is a branch of government which enforces the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary.

31.remand (verb)

English Meaning - return (a case) to a lower court for reconsideration.

32.influence (verb)

English Meaning - affect, have an effect on, exert influence on, control, determine, pressurize.

33.culminate (verb)

English Meaning - end with, finish with, terminate with, conclude with, come to an end with.

34.Capitol (noun)

English Meaning - In the United States, the Capitol is a building in Washington in which the US Congress meets.

35.trial court (noun)

English Meaning - a court of law where cases are tried at first. (try means to investigate and decide (a case) in a formal trial).

36.dissenting (adjective)

English Meaning - opposite, contradicting, disagreeing, conflicting.

37.claim (noun)

English Meaning - assertion, affirmation, contention, case.

38.enable (verb)

English Meaning - allow, permit, authorize, entitle, empower.

39.unhesitating (adjective)

English Meaning - unwavering, unfaltering, dedicated, determined, resolute, steadfast, firm.

40.intrusive (adjective)

English Meaning - intruding, interfering, interrupting; annoying, irritating.

41.trivial (adjective)

English Meaning - unimportant, insignificant, inconsequential, minor, petty, small, little.

42.inconceivable (adjective)

English Meaning - unthinkable, unimaginable, extremely implausible.

43.accountability (noun)

English Meaning - responsibility, liability, answerability.

44.violate (verb)

English Meaning - breach, break, offend, go against, transgress; be opposed to, contradict, counteract.

45.criminal Law (noun)

English Meaning - a complex system of laws concerned with punishment of individuals who commit crimes.

46.critic (noun)

English Meaning - criticizer, censurer, castigator, attacker, fault-finder.

47.peril (noun)

English Meaning - danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty.

48.democracy (noun)

English Meaning - a system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through fairly & freely elected representatives.

49.implication (noun)

English Meaning - outcome, end result, ramification, repercussion.

50.the dissent (noun)

English Meaning - a person who publicly disagrees with an official opinion, decision and etc.

51.in lieu of (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of, as an alternative for, as a replacement for, in exchange for, in place of.

52.pardon (noun)

English Meaning - it means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free; reprieve, acquittal/discharge, exoneration, general pardon.

53.authorise (noun)

English Meaning - endorse, approve, empower, justify, permit.

54.assassination (noun)

English Meaning - murder, killing.

55.presidency (noun)

English Meaning - the office of president; the period of a president’s office; premiership, leadership, chairmanship, stewardship.

56.intrusion (noun)

English Meaning - intervention, involvement, meddling, interference.

57.in the name of (phrase)

English Meaning - for the sake of, at the behest of, for the reason of.

58.destructive (adjective)

English Meaning - harmful, damaging, brutal, dangerous, disastrous, devastating.

59.successor (noun)

English Meaning - inheritor, next-in-line, replacement.

60.passing (adjective)

English Meaning - hasty, rapid, hurried, brief, quick.

61.mention (noun)

English Meaning - reference, comment, remark.

62.possibility (noun)

English Meaning - chance, option, probability, scope.

63.astonishing (adjective)

English Meaning - bewildering, surprising, stunning, disconcerting, staggering.

64.solely (adverb)

English Meaning - only, merely, just, alone, entirely.

65.concern (verb)

English Meaning - relate to, be about, have to do with, be connected with, regard.